Wednesday, February 16, 2011

I have a friend with a baby at Shands now fighting for her life. This has made me stop and think how much worse things could have been with Braden. I believe that everything (blood pressure, hospital stay, induction) happened for a reason. If we had waited and allowed him to come later we could have lost him. Braden had a knot in his cord and if we had known this we would have gone with a c-section vs. the delivery. I thank God daily for allowing him to be safe through the process even though Braden spent a week in NICU it could have been MUCH worse. I thought a week was hard, I can't imagine longer and being in a different place to add to it. I will never forget the wonderful nurses and doctors that helped my little boy.

I know that each child is different, but coming from the same parents should bring some similarities. Even from pregnancy however, I knew my 2 boys would be different. Some times when looking at B2 I think he looks so much like his older brother and other times not at all. In some ways they are the same, but in more ways I see differences. Even with B2 being so young still I can see it.

Things that are the same:

1. Looks- you definitely know who their parents are. B1 looks more like daddy and B2 looks more like me, but daddy can't deny either of them.

2. Demeanor- They are both happy kids. B2 loves to smile and laugh just like B1 did. He makes you work for it a bit more, but once you get him going there's a fun time to be had!

That's about it.

Things that are different:

1. Sleep- B2 is sleeping 10+ hours each night. B1 was 9 months old before he EVER did. B1 was up every 2 hours until he was 4.5 months old and B2 has been sleeping through since 3 months. I believe that it's Gods gift to me:) B2 however, has not figured out the nap thing for Grandma (she keeps both boys while I'm at work) but I believe that will come with time because he does nap on the weekend, even if it's just in the afternoon.

2. Eating- B2 already takes 4oz+ at a feeding, needing a larger than 4 oz bottle. B1 NEVER took more than 4oz at one time. This makes me have to readdress my pumping routine. We started B2 on cereal only a week or 2 sooner than B1, but for different reasons. I just can't keep up with B2. He's hungry ALL the time and never left my chest on the weekends. Since starting cereal he seems to be happier and is sleeping better for Grandma during the day:)

3. Size- anyone who knows B1 knows he is probably the smallest kid they've ever met. He'll be 3 in April and is still wearing 18M pants. From birth he has never been on the chart for height. He's grown fine on his curve, but it's at the bottom, less than 3% range. And as far as weight goes he is on the chart, barely. Not sure he's my child in that regard. B2 weighted in at 13.5 lbs at 3 months. He's still short at just about 24 inches and still wearing 3 month pants and sleepers, but B1 was almost 5 months before he was the same size. This is probably due to the differences discussed in #1 & 2 above.

I can already tell there will no longer be a dull moment around my house! These 2 boys keep me on my toes for sure. I'm excited to watch them grow and see what the future holds.